Wolfpack Lose Two at Rockingham in District Tournament

WENTWORTH, N.C. - The Westmoreland County Community College baseball was eliminated from the Mid-Atlantic District Tournament Saturday, as the Wolfpack lost both ends of a doubleheader to Rockingham Community College.

The Wolfpack lost game one by a 7-2 score and the Eagles took the second game 20-6, as Rockingham advanced to their third consecutive NJCAA World Series.

The opening game saw the Eagles score a run in the opening inning off Westmoreland starter Jared Wagner, but he responded by striking out six in the first two innings. In the third inning, the Wolfpack tied the game in a big way when Matt Henderson launched a solo homer to left field, his first of the season, and Westmoreland had drawn even at 1-1.

The Eagles retook the lead in the fifth with a run, but that was answered right back by the Wolfpack. Tommy Kegerreis and Noah Sweeney singled and moved up on a ground out. Reid Amundson followed with a ground out that brought in Kegerreis and the game was even again at 2-2 after six innings.

In the seventh, Rockingham used a string of three straight hits to plate a run and go back in front 3-2 before pushing four more across in the eighth to swell their cushion to 7-2. Westmoreland's bats went cold down the stretch, as they were unable to mount a scoring threat in the last three innings and the Eagles secured the game one win.

Wagner went 6 1/3 on the hill and allowed four runs while striking out 10. Tanner Orndorff totaled four punchouts in the final 1 2/3 innings. With the bats, Henderson had two hits, including the homer, and reached base three times, while Sweeney collected a pair of hits as well.

Rockingham was the road team in the second game and they scored in their first at-bat to take a 1-0 lead. They threatened for more in the second, but had a rally stopped when Dom Koch made a great diving catch in left-center field. Westmoreland scrapped back with a run in the second inning, as they loaded the bases and Logan Gustafson collected an RBI with a fielder's choice to make it a 1-1 game.

The Eagles started to take control in the third inning, as they plated six runs, with the big blow being a grand slam. Westmoreland would continue to hang around for a few innings, as they managed one run in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Amundson. After RCC scored a run in the fourth, the Wolfpack struck again. Matt Wicker singled, took third on a double by Kegerreis and both were chased home with a two-run double from Sweeney to trim the Eagle advantage to 8-4 after five innings.

That was as close as the Wolfpack would get, as Rockingham blew the game open with eight runs in the sixth inning and added a few more to complete a 20-6 victory.

Westmoreland finished the second game with 14 hits, including three from Sweeney, who also knocked in three, and Wicker had three hits as well and scored twice. Also collecting two singles was Koch. 

The loss brought the Wolfpack's season to an end, a year that saw the program play a schedule made up entirely of scholarship and four-year programs until the final five games of the season. The program also earned the nod as the Region XX representative in the District Tournament by defeating Prince George's in a three-game series.